Travel blog: summer 2026

We went to Xinjiang again! Yes, again. Last year we went to the north. This year to the south. But before then we spent a few days around Shennongjia, where I saw this little mouse munching on grass. And then we went to the lakes, where there was this person playing fetch with his dog. He'd throw the tennis ball into the lake. And then we went to Xi'an where we rode bikes around the city wall, an entire loop, and my butt hurt for days afterwards but it was worth it. It rained one morning and Dad slid and smashed his face on the ground, but he was fine. And then we flew to Kashgar![1] We went to the Ancient City the first day, where Dad loudly complained about some fancy little souvenirs being made with purple copper. "Purple copper," he said as no one listened, "is so cheap to buy and to process. This costs a tenth of the price it's sold for." Dawaköl desert next. The adults convinced me (by not giving me enough time to decide before buying the tickets) into riding one of those cars…